Toshiba laptops drive monitors by USB alone

British firm helping shape the future of computer displays

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This one sneaked in under the radar last week, but a medium-sized company from Cambridge called DisplayLink has landed a significant contract with Toshiba that is almost certain to change the way we look at our computer monitors.

One cable to rule them all

The £129.00 Dynadock PA3542E-1PRP that's available now in the UK plugs into a single USB 2.0 port on a laptop. It can drive a monitor up to 1680 x 1050 pixels while simultaneously powering a sound system and standard USB peripherals and while powering phones, PDAs and the like.

The advantage of the USB method is initially in reducing cable clutter by cutting out the standard VGA lead monitors have always used, but the next generation of DisplayLink technology is the one to look out for, as it will use wireless USB to drive displays with no cables at all.